A CURVE-SHAPED BELT CONVEYOR

Abstract: A conveyor with an endless flexible cone-shaped belt which extends over at least two conical rollers between which the belt is kept stretched in a controlled curve path, said belt being provided at its longest edge with a plurality of control elements which stretch the belt under the engagement of the control elements with a first travelling path, which is retained with respect to a frame and extends along the longest edge of the belt in the vicinity of the opposite inner sides of the transport path and the return path of the belt, and in which a second travelling path for the simultaneous engagement of the control elements extends substantially in parallel with and at a distance from the first-mentioned travelling path in the vicinity of the outer sides of the belt facing away from each other, said second travelling path being retained with respect to the frame by means of a plurality of yokes in order to provide free passage for the control elements. This also ensures easy cleaning and service of the control elements as well as a significant reduction in wear and noise over the prior art.

Description: A curve-shaped belt conveyor The present invention concerns a conveyor having an end¬ less flexible belt extending over at least two conical rollers between which the belt is kept stretched in a controlled curve path, said belt being provided with a plurality of control elements at its longest edge which stretch the belt under the engagement of the control ele¬ ments with a first travelling path, which is retained with respect to a frame and which extends along the longest edge of the belt in the vicinity of the opposite inner sides of the transport path and the return path of the belt. Such belt conveyors generally comprise a frustoconical belt which is stretched between at least two conical rollers and forms an upper plane transport path and a lower plane return path, whereby material may be trans¬ ported along a curve-shaped path. To ensure that the belt cannot slide off the first-mentioned rollers in operation, the longitudinal outer edge of the belt is frequently re¬ tained by means of control elements. These control ele¬ ments retain the belt in the controlled curve path under engagement with some travelling paths adapted for the pur- pose along the longest edge of the belt, said travelling paths being frequently provided on the inner side of U- profiles which are firmly mounted on the inner side of a gable which extends outside the entire longest edge of the belt and which moreover serves as a frame for the con- veyor. Since the travelling paths for the control elements, as stated above, consist of U-shaped profiles, it is clear that control elements extend within these and are there- fore not very accessible with a view to cleaning and ser- vice of the control elements. Since such conveyors are frequently used in the industry in connections where it is important to be able to maintain a high degree of hygiene and where it is important to be able to service the system quickly and simply, it is desirable that said control ele¬ ments are easily accessible from the outer side of the conveyor, which is not the case with this known type. EP patent No. 98227 discloses a curve-shaped conveyor which remedies the above-mentioned drawbacks. This is achieved in that frame elements of the conveyor are pre¬ ferably present between the upper carrying face and the lower return face of the belt. It is hereby made possible for the control elements to engage the frame on the out- side of the frame, as distinct from the above-mentioned prior art in which the control elements are retained in U- profiles on the inner side of the frame. However, a se¬ rious drawback of the conveyor according to EP patent No. 98227 is that the engagement face of the control elements is offset with respect to the plane of the conveyor belt, toward the inner side of the belt. This means that the control elements are subjected to a moment load in use, so that the point of attachment of the control element on the belt is pressed down against the support of the belt, which results in friction against the support and conse¬ quently wear and noise. In addition, the above-mentioned moment load may involve a local distortion of the belt from its plane, which, in practice, may entail reduced service life of the belt. The object of the present invention is therefore to pro¬ vide a curve-shaped belt conveyor which is easy to clean and service in practice, in particular as regards the con¬ trol elements, and which also has an extended service life, as well as to reduce wear and noise. This is achieved by the means defined in claim 1. This structure ensures that the above-mentioned moment load on the control elements is compensated by providing an addi¬ tional travelling path which is retained with respect to the frame and with respect to the first-mentioned travel¬ ling path by means of a plurality of yokes, which do not interfere with the accessibility with a view to service and cleaning of the control elements. A particularly simple structure is obtained by construct¬ ing the yokes as stated in claim 2, while the said travel¬ ling paths are simple to position with respect to each other. When the yokes are secured releasibly, as stated in claims 3 and 4, the travelling paths can be separated from each other in a simple manner with a view to simple and quick exchange of belts. When the travelling paths are oriented as stated in one of claims 7 or 8, the belt will have a relatively extended service life, since the belt is not subjected to a moment load at the point of attachment at all or only to a very low degree. The plastics coating on the travelling paths or the rollers according to claim 6 provides a relatively noise¬ less conveyor. Claim 10 defines an embodiment of the invention in which the control elements are mounted resiliently on the belt, thereby ensuring that the springs accommodate tolerance variations in the surface of the travelling path, which results in an extended service life of the belt. Embodiments of the invention will be described more fully below with reference to the drawing, in which fig. 1 is a perspective view of a curve conveyor according to the invention without a belt, fig. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the travel¬ ling paths at right angles to the travelling direction of the conveyor, and figs. 3 and 4 are sectional views at one of the yokes in fig. 1 of two alternative embodiments for the establish¬ ment of the travelling paths. The curve conveyor 1 of the invention is shown in fig. 1 without a belt for clarity. It will be seen in the figure that the conveyor is defined by an inner gable 2 and an outer gable 3 between which the belt 4 (not shown) ex¬ tends. The inner gable 2 is formed by an elongate plate material which is bent in an arc. Each of the ends of the inner gable 2 mounts a roller set, each consisting of a conical roller 5 about which the belt is to be positioned. Plate-shaped frame members 6 extend between the inner gable 2 and the outer gable 3 and keep the inner gable 2 and the outer gable 3 at a fixed distance from each other, and these frame members 6 also serve as a support for the belt extending between the rollers. The outer gable is formed by two parts, each of which is made of a plate material and is in the form of an arc, located concentrically with the innermost gable 2 and having a radius larger than the radius of the innermost gable 2 corresponding to the width of the belt. The two plate parts forming the outermost gable 3 are located in the same plane, and the first plate part 7 extends com¬ pletely within a recess provided in the second plate part 8 so as to form a track 9 between the two gable parts. The gable parts are constructed such that the track 9 assumes the shape of a groove which extends in the outer gable and is aligned with the edge of a belt which is stretched be- tween the two rollers 5. This makes it possible for con¬ trol elements 10 located at the outermost edge of the belt to extend between the first and the second gable parts 7, 8 in the track 9, whereby the first gable part,.7 and the second gable part 8 provide travelling paths for the con- trol elements with a view to keeping the belt stretched on the curve conveyor 1, since such a belt will try to move toward the innermost gable 2 in use. The frame members 6 and the conical rollers 5 are secured to the first gable part 7 according to fig. 1, so that these parts as well as the inner gable part 2 form an as¬ sembled unit on which the belt can be mounted. The second gable part 8 is retained with respect to the first gable part 7 by means of a plurality of yokes 11, which extend from the outer side of the first gable part 7 across the travelling paths established by the first gable part 7 and the second gable part 8 to the second gable part 8, so that the yokes 11 bridge the travelling paths. The control elements 10 are hereby extremely easily accessible for cleaning and repair, because the travelling paths are not provided in closed profiles or the like. As mentioned above, the control elements 10 are used for stretching the bels over the curve conveyor, so that the belt is in firm engagement with the conical rollers 5. As will be seen from figs. 2-4, the control elements 10 may each be formed by two guide rollers 12 which are mounted on their respective shafts 13, which are mounted on their respective sides of the belt 4 in alignment with each other and at right angles to the belt, so that the rollers 12 engage the first gable part 7 and the second gable part 8 and thus guide the belt 4 along the track 9 in the outer gable part, as will be seen from figs. 2, 3 and 4. Owing to the service life of the belt, the shafts 13 may be mounted resiliently on the belt 4, so that dimensional in- accuracies, if any, are accommodated by said resilience. In the operation of a curve conveyor of this type it is important that the belt 4 is kept tightly stretched in the conveyor 1, and the control elements are therefore firmly engaged with the travelling paths on the first and the se¬ cond gable parts 7 and 8. Since, however, it is frequently desirable that the upper carrying plane of the conveyor is approximately horizontal, it is necessary to angle the conical rollers 5 slightly with respect to the horizontal, so that the return side of the belt is oblique with re¬ spect to the horizontal. This means that if the travelling paths at the carrying side of the belt and the travelling paths at the return side of the belt are in complete ver¬ tical alignment, increased tension will occur in the belt at its return side. In addition, if the surfaces of the travelling paths are completely parallel both on the car¬ rying side of the belt and at the return side of the belt, an abrupt bend will occur in the plane of the belt at the points of attachment of the control elements, which may result in a reduced service life of the belt. Fig. 2 shows an embodiment of the invention in which the first gable part 7 and the second gable part 8 are in com¬ plete vertical alignment with each other, and where the above-mentioned tension in the belt because of the angle of the conical roller 5 with respect to the horizontal is compensated by providing the gable parts 7, 8 with travel¬ ling path coatings which are thicker on the carrying side of the belt than on the return side of the belt. This coating may expediently be made of a plastics material to reduce noise caused by the rolling of the rollers 12 on the travelling path. It will be seen from the figure that in this embodiment the belt is subjected at its return side to distortion out of the plane of the belt at the point of attachment of the control element. Fig. 3 shows an alternative embodiment for the establish¬ ment of the rolling paths, in which the surface of the rolling paths is at right angles to the shaft of the coni¬ cal roller 5, which ensures complete compensation of the tension in the belt caused by the angle of the conical roller 5 with respect to the horizontal. In addition, it will be seen that the belt 4 is forced out of its plane at a firm angle with respect to the plane of the belt, which reduced the risk of possible fatigue fractures and crack formations at the attachment points of the guide elements. Fig. 4 shows a further embodiment for the establishment of the travelling paths, in which the travelling paths at the carrying side of the belt extend completely vertically, and in which the travelling paths at the return side of the belt are established at an angle with respect to the vertical, so that on the return side the belt is not forced out of its own plane, said travelling paths being offset with respect to each other at the carrying side and the return side of the belt in order to compensate the tension in the belt caused by the angle of the conical roller 5 with respect to the horizontal. An optimum belt service life is hereby obtained, because in this embodi¬ ment the belt is not subjected to either inexpedient ten- sions or distortions out of its plane. It is clear that by combination a person skilled in the field will be able to arrive at a plurality of different embodiments using the means shown in figs. 2-4, it being possible e.g. to obtain the same angles and positions of the travelling paths according to figs. 3 and 4 by means of travelling path coatings, as shown in fig. 2, achieving the same advantages as regards damping of noise, etc.

Claims: P a t e n t C l a i m s : 1. A conveyor having an endless, flexible, cone-shaped belt extending over at least two conical rollers between which the belt is kept stretched in a controlled curve path, said belt being provided at its longest edge with a plurality of control elements stretching the belt under the engagement of the control elements with a first tra- veiling path, which is retained with respect to a frame and extends along the longest edge of the belt in the vi¬ cinity of the opposite inner sides of the transport path and the return path of the belt, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that a second travelling path for the simultaneous en- gagement of the control elements extends substantially in parallel with and at a distance from the first-mentioned travelling path in the vicinity of the outer sides of the belt facing away from each other, said second travelling path being retained with respect to the frame by means of plurality of yokes in order to provide free passage for the control elements. 2. A conveyor according to claim 1, c h a r a c t e r ¬ i z e d in that each yoke is formed by a rod-shaped cross bar from whose one side three mutually spaced legs pro¬ trude, the two outermost legs being secured to the second travelling path, the intermediate leg being secured to the first travelling path, such that the yokes bridge the transport path and the return path of the belt. 3. A conveyor according to claim 2, c h a r a c t e r ¬ i z e d in that the yokes are secured detachably to the first-mentioned travelling path. 4. A conveyor according to claim 2 or 3, c h a r a c ¬ t e r i z e d in that the yokes are secured detachably to the second travelling path. 5. A conveyor according to one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the belt extends be- tween the travelling paths, that each control element is formed by two parts, secured with respect to each other, on their respective sides of the belt, each of said parts comprising at least one rotary shaft at right angles to the plane of the belt and a roller which engages the tra- veiling path. 6. A conveyor according to one or more of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the travelling paths or the rollers are coated with or are formed by a plastics material. 7. A conveyor according to one or more of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the control elements are mounted resiliently on the belt via spring elements. 8. A conveyor according to one of the preceding claims, c h a r a c t e r i z e d in that the transport path is plane and thereby describes a circular arc, and that on the return side the belt extends in a conical face extend¬ ing below the outer plane and having a vertex in the upper plane and in the center of the circular arc and thereby describes a segment of a frustoconical face. 9. A conveyor according to claim 6, c h a r a c t e r ¬ i z e d in that along the greater part of its length the carrying side of the belt is oriented approximately at right angles to the upper horizontal plane, and that the travelling paths at the lower return side are oriented everywhere approximately at right angles to the genera¬ trices of the cone-shaped face. 10. A conveyor according to claim 6, c h a r a c t e r ¬ i z e d in that along the greater part of their length the travelling paths are oriented approximately at right angles to the angle bisectors between the generatrices of the cone-shaped face and the upper plane.

Inventors: RUD MOGENS, RUD, MOGENS
Applicants: RUD MOGENS, SEELEN AS, RUD, MOGENS, SEELEN A/S
Application year: 1994
Main classification: B65G15
IPC codes: B65G15